Matter and Its Interactions

  1. Health & Medicine

    Stem cells can help build lab-grown organs that mimic real life

    Making such organoids with 3-D printing and other tech can help researchers learn more about many troubling and potentially deadly disorders.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  2. Tech

    High-tech solar ‘leaves’ create green fuels from the sun

    Chemists make a liquid alternative to fossil fuels from carbon dioxide, water and the sun. Their trick? They use a new type of artificial leaf.

    By Laura Allen
  3. Tech

    New thermal ‘cloak’ keeps spaces from getting too hot or too cold

     A prototype fabric could help keep cars, buildings and other spaces cooler during heat waves while also reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

    By Skyler Ware
  4. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Valence electrons

    These far-out electrons do the hard work when it comes to chemical reactions.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter
  5. Materials Science

    This house is partly made of recycled diapers

    After being washed, dried, sanitized and shredded, used diapers were mixed with other materials to make a strong concrete.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  6. Chemistry

    Experiment: Test the effect of temperature on reaction time

    Alka-Seltzer tablets fizzle furiously when dropped into water. Can you make Alka-Seltzer fizz faster or more loudly by changing the water’s temperature?

    By Science Buddies
  7. Materials Science

    Analyze This: A new fabric mimics polar bears’ pelts for warmth

    With layers that work like polar bears’ skin and fur, a material absorbs light and keeps it from escaping.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  8. Physics

    Scientists Say: Explosion

    Explosions happen when chemical or nuclear reactions blow out a lot of heat, noise and expanding gas.

    By Maria Temming
  9. Tech

    Nanocrystal ‘painted’ films may someday help relieve summer heat

    The rainbow palette and cooling powers of new plant-based films comes from their microscopic surface patterns of tiny crystals.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter
  10. Tech

    A new solar-powered gel purifies water in a flash

    The unusual, fruit-inspired structure of this material provides quick filtration that could satisfy people's daily water needs.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter
  11. Animals

    These beetles ‘drink’ water using their butts

    Red flour beetles can survive in very dry environments. New research shows how the beetles can suck water from the air using their rear ends.

    By Freda Kreier
  12. Tech

    Magnetic fields melt and re-form new shape-shifting devices

    Miniature machines made of gallium and magnetic particles can switch from solid to liquid and back.

    By McKenzie Prillaman